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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Odd To See Todd

Todd Margaret is back. If you didn't watch the first two seasons on IFC, that may not be a surprise. But if you watched them, you'd know that the show ended--or so we thought--with the earth being destroyed. Not a likely candidate for a sequel.

But I guess David Cross--who also returned in updated episodes of Arrested Development and Mr. Show (even if they called it something else)--thought it would be fun. Having watched three of the six episodes that make up this season, I'm enjoying it, but I'm not quite sure where it's going.

The original show I liked but didn't love. It was cringe comedy--not my favorite genre. Todd Margaret, played by Cross, was a loser who was inexplicably given a major job to do for an energy drink concern in London. Each episode had him getting deeper and deeper in trouble, lying to cover up his failures until, at the end of season one, he was being prosecuted for his many crimes, and at the end of season two, was pushing the button to fire the nuclear warheads. (I was disappointed when it turned that the guy behind everything was a spoiled son of a Lord who was trying to get even with Todd for a stray joke he made.)

But season three starts with Todd Margaret waking up. He just had the oddest dream, which was the first two seasons. This new Todd Margaret is very different. He's actually quite good at his job, but ruthless, and a big jerk. He also has to go to London to get a campaign going for an energy drink. But along the way, he keeps getting deja vu at how similar people and situations are to what he dreamed. I assume the next three episodes will reveal what's really going on, and which is the real dream.

It takes a little getting used to, and almost requires the audience to have seen the earlier episodes, but I've come this far--guess I'll stick till the end.

Speaking of shows no one thought we'd see again, ABC is now airing the second season of the comedy Galavant. It's about a brave knight and the princess he hopes to save, not to mention lots of kings and queens and servants and so on. The jokes tend to be corny, and also self-conscious and anachronistic. But the cast is game, so at least it has the proper spirit.

Also, it's done as a musical. The tunes, by well-known Disney composer Alan Menken, are surprisingly good, though the lyrics are cheap and often don't rhyme properly. My favorite tune in the first season was the theme, but the second season started out with the cast making it more than clear they never intend to sing that song again. Too bad.

While we're at it, CBS is offering a sitcom that's actually new--Angel From Hell. It stars Jane Lynch as Amy, a woman who appears in another woman's life and claims to be her guardian angel. The other woman is Allison, a dermatologist, played by Maggie Lawson. Her sad sack brother, Brad, is played by Kyle Borkheimer and her widowed father Marv is played by Kevin Pollak.

I've liked all these actors in previous roles, but seeing Lynch, week in week out, as an annoying, obnoxious angel is not my idea of fun, even if she ends up helping Allison by the end of the story.